Guest Blog:

Hidden Cyber Risks of High-Responsibility Households

Written By: Scott Hirschfeld, CTAccess

The reality of our world and its cybersecurity risks can feel overwhelming. While it may be tempting to ignore them, it is better to stay informed and vigilant to protect ourselves.

Cybercriminals target certain behaviors. They exploit people who multitask, get distracted, rush through emails, or rush to approve things. They look for actions like reflexively approving multi factor authentication (MFA) requests, reusing passwords for convenience, or bypassing security best practices because they are time-consuming.

Many of us juggle business ventures, investment platforms, busy families, travel, real estate, and more. This active lifestyle appeals to hackers. Our online profiles give cybercriminals plenty of information. Often, we also have expanded financial portfolios with banks and investment platforms, as well as sensitive business accounts such as vendor or payroll systems.

Our homes have gotten more complex as well. Our home internet has many devices connected to it. Work devices are more common than ever, which opens a portal to that “office data”. We have gaming systems, smart TVs, smart fridges, smart light bulbs, and well, pretty much smart everything. Home networks become almost as complex as business networks and are often far less protected, creating another point of entry for cybercriminals.

Though it does not meet compliance requirements, I’ve seen doctors and other professionals forward their business email to their home accounts, effectively removing the protections the company has put in place for their business email. We regularly see the comingling of work and home accounts and information. Security is a sacrifice because we just want to get things done, so we can get out the door to a kids’ sporting event, or on the plane for that much-needed vacation.

So how do we keep it secure?

Here are Five Simple Ways to Improve Your Family Cybersecurity

1) Use a password manager for all accounts. Avoid reusing passwords, as this is a major risk. Try Keeper Security for secure password storage. Make the use of a password vault mandatory for both business and personal use.

2) Turn on MFA for each important account. Many cloud platforms now require MFA, but if yours does not, enable it. MFA is a quick way to block hackers. The process is now easier than ever. Most services use a simple app on your phone to verify identity.

3) Segment your home network. If you don’t already, have a main network that only adults in the home use and don’t allow anyone else to use it. Then have a guest network for your smart Fridge, smart TV, kids, and guests. This segments the important stuff from the risky stuff. This is easy to configure on most home internet routers/firewalls, and it will greatly improve your security!

4) Create a household tech policy. It should cover the basics, like ‘never reuse a password’ or ‘never install an app we have not heard of’. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just safe. There are lots of ways to enforce internet and app restrictions for your kids, but that is another topic.

5) Do a simple 30-minute digital cleanup each year. Your checklist: Delete old accounts you no longer use. Update your router or firewall firmware. Remove unused devices from your network. Change WiFi passwords. Confirm all devices have updated security software installed.

We often put cybersecurity in a box. We call it too complicated or too intrusive. The best cybersecurity uses small, consistent habits for better protection. Slow down. Separate home and work technology. Put a few guardrails in place. These steps reduce your risk and make you less of a target.